In freight transportation it is often desirable to stack cargo in multiple levels to take full advantage of the available height of containers such as truck trailers, aircraft, railroad cars, and other similar cargo containers. To facilitate this process it is common practice to employ removable decking beams capable of supporting the weight of heavy payloads.
Typically such decking beams are adjustable, allowing them to be repositioned within a cargo container at various heights and horizontal intervals, depending on the size and nature of the cargo.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical cargo beam and decking system in accordance with the prior art. FIG. 1 is a cut-away perspective view of a truck trailer containing two rows and stacks of cargo pallets. As shown, a series of vertical mounting tracks 10 line the walls along the length of the cargo container. Each of the mounting tracks 10 includes a series of openings for adjusting the height of the decking beams. In the present example four decking beams 20 span the width of the trailer, providing support for the top layer of cargo pallets 30.
FIG. 2 is a side view of an adjustable decking beam in accordance with the prior art. The beam 40 comprises a central section 50 that is hollow and two adjustable end pieces 60, 70 that are slideably disposed within the ends of the beam. Each end piece further comprises a “foot” 65, 75 that can be slideably disposed along the vertical mounting tracks shown in FIG. 1.
The feet have trigger, locking mechanisms 80 that engage and disengage with the openings in the mounting tracks, thereby allowing the beams to be locked into place at different heights, according to the needs of the user.
Several problems arise with the current designs of decking beams. In the event one end of the beam is dropped to the floor, the opposite end often damages the vertical mounting track.
In addition, most current models support the beam with two outside pieces with the trigger mechanism enclosed in the middle. However, once the outside pieces are bent, the enclosed trigger mechanism becomes inoperative, and the beam is out of service. Similarly, some prior art designs use outside trigger mechanism, which encounter the same problem. They are easily bent, putting the whole beam out of service.
Another common problem with prior art decking beams is the possibility of the beam being dented or bent during the loading/unloading process. One approach for addressing this problem involves increasing the width of the top surface of the beam relative to the bottom.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross sectional views of different prior art designs for decking beams with wider top widths than bottom widths. The increased top width increases the area over which the load of the cargo is distributed, reducing potential damage to the cargo due to cutting by the beam. The extended top width also provides additional structural strength to prevent the side surface from bending in case cargo impacts the side of the beam during loading. In both examples, the wide-top beams have a general T-shape.
In the example shown in FIG. 3, the extended edges form hollow, square, box-like structures 90, 100 perpendicular to the main body 101 of the beam. In FIG. 4, the extended edges 110, 111 are cantilevered from the main body of the beam as shown.
Unfortunately, the geometric configurations of these prior art designs make the extended edges of the beam tops vulnerable to structural damage.
Therefore, there is a need in the freight industry for a more robust decking beam system that is more resilient to damage from the often rough conditions of loading and unloading heavy cargo.